Senator Shaheen and Rep. Kim Introduce Bill to Help Small Businesses Cut Through Red Tape

May 10, 2019

(Washington, DC) – Yesterday, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, and Congressman Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced the Small Business Regulatory Relief Act, a bill that will help small businesses navigate excessive red tape and help them grow and create jobs.

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of the National Ombudsman was created in 1996 to help small businesses overcome excessive or unfair regulatory enforcement actions by federal agencies. These actions include repetitive audits, investigations or excessive fines. In Fiscal Year 2018, the Office of the National Ombudsman advocated on behalf of 354 small businesses and conducted 118 outreach events across the country.

The bill would give the Office of the National Ombudsman the authority to work with federal agencies to provide meaningful compliance assistance and improve its outreach to help small businesses. The legislation also establishes a single point of contact at each federal agency to work with the Ombudsman, which will improve efforts to help small business owners navigate federal regulations.

“Small businesses serve as the engine of the New Hampshire economy and should be able to focus on expansion and growth rather than hurdles and obstacles when dealing with the federal government,” said Senator Shaheen. “By empowering the SBA to work with other federal agencies to address the immediate needs of small businesses, we will make it easier for Granite State entrepreneurs to succeed and thrive. This is a common-sense proposal and I look forward to rallying support for it in this Congress.”

“Small business owners face enough challenges every day, it’s up to Congress to help clear their path so they can grow and create jobs,” said Congressman Kim. “The Ombudsman’s office is a great resource to small business owners looking to navigate their way through a sea of red tape. By making it more efficient, we can make it more effective and we can help empower our small business owners in New Jersey and throughout the country.”

As a senior member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Shaheen has led efforts to promote and protect the growth of Granite State small businesses. Last week, in celebration of National Small Business Week, Shaheen visited Foxx Life Sciences in Salem to discuss the challenges of growing a small business. In March, Shaheen introduced the bipartisan Restoring Investments in Improvements Act, which ensures restaurants and retailers can take full advantage of a 2017 tax law provision allowing them to write off costs associated with improving facilities immediately. Earlier this year, Shaheen, hearing the needs of Granite State small businesses, sent a bipartisan letter urging then-DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to increase the number of H-2B visas for temporary foreign workers, a request that the administration later fulfilled. Shaheen has also spearheaded the movement to reverse the Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., which allowed states to collect sales tax from out-of-state businesses, including those in non-sales tax collecting states such as New Hampshire.